And I'd give up forever to touch you...

...cause I know that you feel me somehow.

"Will you marry me?" were the first words Curtis ever said to Rachel, way back in the summer of 2000. It was the first time we'd ever spoken in the Halloween Party chat room and Curtis was joking of course, but neither of us ever imagined what those words would lead to! Despite the four thousand miles between us, we became best friends. For the next nine months, we spoke every single day; we exchanged emails and talked endlessly into the night both online and over the phone. However, no matter how much we talked, it never seemed like enough. We came to a point where we just couldn't stand it anymore and in June 2001 Curtis flew to England and we met in person for the first time. There's no way of describing that first meeting that will do it any kind of justice; to know each other so well already yet be seeing each other in person for the first time was extraordinary. We spent the most amazing two weeks together and didn't want it to end.

For the next two years, we flew back and forth between Canada and England, visiting each other whenever we could. Rachel flew to Canada so frequently a customs official had his own page in her passport! We saw each other every three to four months, for two weeks at a time. Again, this never felt like enough. We had to say goodbye so many times that you'd think it would have got easier, but it only got harder. In 2003, only a few months after graduating University, Rachel packed up all of her worldly possessions, hugged her family and friends goodbye and moved to Canada to be with Curtis.

We've only had to be apart for a significant period of time once since then, but that was the last time we will ever have to endure such distance between us. When Curtis proposed, on 19th July 2006, he said: "This is my promise that we'll never have to be apart again." Rachel's holding him to that.